Rail brace



Oct. 3, 1950 GI ARNOLD TAL 2,524,585

RAIL BRACE Filed July 28. 1948 Patented Oct. 3, 1950 "UNITED STATES raam trice RAIL BRACE George Arnold, Shaker Heights, Harry A. Schultz, Garfield Heights, and Edwin E. Rhoads, Solon, Ohio, assignors te Cleveland Frog & Crossingv Co., ClevelanLOhio, a corporation of 0hio Application July Z8, 1948, Serial No. 41,085 v `3 Claims. l

This invention relates to a rail brace such as is applied to a railroad, rail to resist any tendency of the rail to overturn outwardly from the center of the track and to clamp it to the tie plate or base plate (or switch plate) on which it rests, thus holding the rail against movements relative to the plate, which latterl in turn is secured to a supporting tie as is well 'understood in the art.

Rail braces of the type contemplated by this invention are most frequently applied against the stock rails alongside split switch points, but their use is not .necessarily limited to such application.

Further, braces of this` type are frequently (Cl. 23S-292) 2 plate in rail engaging position that it will. maintain such position automatically .without the necessity of employing wedges `or similar arrangements for the purpose of taking up looseness between the brace and the rail.

A further object is to provide a. rail brace which is sor constructed and is so securedv to the base plate as to maintain itself under operatmade adjustable, to compensate for variations in the dimensions of the rail, the seat for the rail and brace; in the brace itself, and also to afford a means of re-tightening the assembly after wear takes place.

Rail braces employed for this purpose generally have av portion which engages one ofthe sloping base anges of the rail and the vertical web of the rail where it merges with the base flanges and a portion which engages the web beneath the rail head. Heretofore the rail ,braces have been secured to theybase plates in rail clamping and bracing` positionV by vertical holddown or clamping bolts extending through the base plates'and braces. Dilliculty has been eX- .perienced with the rail braces in' use in that the braces tend-'when in track tov lwork downwardly of the sloping base ange of the rails and away from the web of the rails until the braces do not eiectively clamp the rails tothe base plates from thefshoul'der of the base plateslj".`

Various arrangements have been employed to overcome this tendency of the raill braces to work away from the rails as, for instance, it has been usual to'ernploy wedge members inserted between therail braces and fixed abutments or back stops secured to the base plates,` the vfunction of the wedges beingftor force the braces toward'therails. Y j

An object' of the present invention is to provide a rail brace. which is so constructedand is sosecured to the base platewhen installed' it? tends at all times andnnder trackage conditions to work toward Athel rail rather than'away^=from the rail, thus insnringthe`v maintenance ofthe necessary` clamping and; bracing I relationship between-the. brace andV the rail.

Another obj ect -i's tol provide; al rail'brace which: is so constructedf andis so secured` to the base ing conditions in tight clamping and bracing relationship with the rail. Y

A further object is to provide a rail brace of improved veiciency as compared to the braces `now in use and which brace when installed and detailed description of an embodiment of the Vor brace the rails against tilting or moving away y invention which is to follow. Y

The invention contemplates constructing a rail brace and securing the same in rail clamping and bracing position in a manner suchthat the force exerted by the vertical holddown bolts of the brace produces on. the brace, in addition to a'vertical or hold-down force, a component force tending to move the brace toward the rail and causing that portion of the brace Ywhich engages with one of the sloping base flanges of the rail to move upwardly of said base flangei into tight engagement with the' rail, as dis-v tinguished from the prior rail brace constructions wherein there is a tendency for the rail braces to move downwardly of the sloping base flange of the rails-and `work loose from proper and effective rail clamping and bracing` position.

' Referringv to the accompanying drawing illustrating an embodiment'of the invention,

Fig. lis a Vtransverse vertical section throughv a1 railway rail, base plate and brace, and

Fig. 2 4is a horizontal `sectional view taken substantially Von Vline 2 2* ci Eig. 1, looking in theV directionof the arrows. The l rail shown in the drawings is of' usual. construction and comprises thebase iianges Il having downwardly sloping upper surfacesjl'L The (basel flanges are integral with `the vertical web i3 of the rail and the downwardlyrsloping surfaces I2 merge at their upper ends into the outer surfaces of the web by curved surface portions. The web I3 at its upper end is integral with the rail head I4, the underside of the rail head and the outer surfaces of the web merging by curved surfaces. The base plate I5 which is secured to the top of a cross tie is provided on its upper side with a recess into which ts the base flanges of the rail. The base plate I5 to the right of said recess as viewed in the drawings is provided with abutment means in the form of a transverse slot I6 for a purpose later to be explained.

The rail brace comprises a block B which preferably is an integral casting or forging and said block includes a vertically extending portion I1 provided at its upper end with a rail web engaging portion I8. The block B also is provided with a downwardly inclined portion I9 connected to the vertical portion I1 by an intermediate portion 2Il, having either a convex or flat surface which engages the downwardly sloping surface I2 of one of the base flanges of the rail and adjacent the web when the brace is installed, i. e., the right hand base flange as viewed in the drawing.

It will be noted that when the rail brace is installed there is a clearance C between the web engaging portion I8 at the upper end of the vertical portion I1 and the underside of the rail head, wherefore the brace in use exerts no up ward force on the underside of the rail head tending to tip the rail; that is, the portion I8 exerts only a horizontal bracing force against the web of the rail. It will also be noted that a lclearance C1 exists between the vertical portion I1 of the block and the web of the rail.

The downwardly inclined portion I9 of the block is provided with spaced openings 2| elonygated in a direction longitudinally of the base plate and extending toward the rail. The block B outwardly and to the right of the inclined portion I9 is provided with a foot portion 22 which when the block is installed is substantially horizontal and bears upon the upper side of the base plate. It will be noted that there is a clearance between the upper side of the base plate and the inclined portion I9 of the block. The block B is provided with integral downwardly curved side walls 23 and 24 uniting the portions I1, I8, I9, and 22.

The base plate I5 is provided with vertical openings underlying the openings 2| and bolts 25 are mounted in said openings in the base plate with the heads of the bolts countersunk in the lower ends of the openings. The bolts 25 extend perpendicularly from the base plate through the openings 2| and a substantial distance above the portion I9 of the block and are threaded at their upper ends.

A combined washer and holding member 26 is used in conjunction with the block B and said member 26 has at its right hand end as viewed in the drawing a downwardly curved portion 21 which engages in the abutment means formed by the transverse slot I6 of the base plate. V'The opposite end of the member 26 is provided with an elongated boss 28, the undersurface 29 of which is downwardly inclined so as :to lie fiat against the downwardly inclined upper surface of the portion I9 of the block. The uppersurface 30of the elongated boss 28 is substantially horiz'ontal. The boss 28 is provided with spaced openings. 3| overlying the openings 2| in the block B and the bolts 25 extend vertically through the spaced openings 3| as clearly indicated in Fig. 1. The openings 3| are formed with a downward slightly divergent taper, and it will be noted that the bolts 25 have a relatively close t in the upper er'ids of the openings 3 I. The member 26 between the portionv 21 and the boss 28 is downwardly inclined and is spaced from the block.

When a rail is mounted in the recess on the upper side of the base plate I5 and the block B is positioned as indicated in Fig. l with the bolts 25 extending vertically through the openings 2|, then the member 26 is positioned on the block with the bolts extending through the openings 3| and with the inclined surface 29 of the boss 28 of the member 26 engaging the upper surface of the inclined portion I9 of the block. Also at this time the downwardly curved portion 21 of the member 26 is positioned in thev slot I6 of the base plate. Heavy spring washers or coil springs 32 are positioned on the bolts 25 and engage the horizontal surface 30 of the boss 28 of the member 26. Then cap nuts 33 are screwed downwardly on the bolts to firmly press the washers or other springs 32 into engagement with the surface 38 and thus to apply the required hold-down bracing forces to the braces.

It will be observed, although the bolts 25 are perpendicular, the force exerted by the nuts and washers carried by the bolts on the block B and member 26 produces because of the inclined upper surface of the portion I9 of the block and the inclined lower surface 29 of the boss 28 resultant lateral forces in addition to the vertical hold-down forces. It will be observed that boss surface 29 and the upper surface of the portion I9 are substantially parallel to the surface I2 of the one rail base flange.- These resultant lateral forces function to urge the block B toward the rail with the engaging side of the intermediate portion 20 of the block riding upwardly of the downwardly sloping surface I2 of the right hand base flange of the rail. Also these resultant forces act to urge the member 26 toward the right as viewed in the drawing to tightly engage the portion 21 of the member 26 with the right hand side of the slot I6 in the base plate I5. In other words, the hold-down forces tend to and actually do function to urge the block B toward the left and toward the rail and the member 26 toward the right and the portion 21 thereof into tight contact with the right hand side of the slot I6. Consequently the rail brace when installed in track will maintain itself in the proper tight engagement with the rail and will have no tendency forthe portion 20 to work downwardly of said surface I2 of the rail base flange under vibration or other causes as is frequently the case with present day rail braces. Therefore the rail brace will maintain itself automatically at all times in the proper relationship to the rail to effectively and safely hold the latter against movement relative to the base plateY I5.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described herein it will be understood that the invention vis susceptible of various 'modifications and adaptations within the. scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A rail brace and supporting means of the type specified and comprising, in combination, va base plate provided @nits upper side with a recess adapted to receiveand support the base vflanges of a rail, said base plate being provided with upwardly extending perpendicular bolts and with an abutment means on its upper side, a block having a portion adapd to engage the rail web beneath the head thereof and an intermediate portion adapted to engage the downwardly slopu ing upper surface of one of the base flanges oi the rail adjacent the web thereof, said block also being provided with a downwardly inclined portion integral with and extending from said intermediate portion and having its underside spaced from the downwardly sloping upper surface of said one base flange of the rail and from the upper surface of the base plate, said inclined portion being provided with openings elongated in the longitudinal direction of the base plate and through whichV said bolts extend, said block also being providedl with a ioot portion integrally connected with said inclined portion and extending substantially horizontally therefrom and having surface contact with the upper side of the base plate, a washer member operatively associated with said block and provided with boss means having openings therein through which said bolts project, said boss means j having a substantially horizontal upper surface and a downwardly inclined under surface contacting the upper side of the inclined portion of the block, said washer member having a portion extending from the boss means thereof and overlying said foot portion of the block and provided at its outer end with an abutment engaging portion, spring means on said bolts engaging the substantially horizontal upper surface of said boss means, and hold-down nuts on said bolts engaging said spring means.

2. A rail brace and supporting means of the type specied and comprising, in combination, a base plate provided on its upper side with a recess vadapted 'to receive and support the base flanges of a rail, said base plate being provided with upwardly extending perpendicular bolts and with an abutment means on its upper side, a block having a portion adapted to engage the rail web beneath the head thereof and an intermediate portion ada-pted to engage the downwardly sloping upper surface of one of the base flanges of the rail adjacent the Web thereof, said intermediate portion being of arcuate configuration and having its convex side in engagement with said one base-flange, said block also being provided with a downwardly inclined portion in tegral with and extending from saidV intermediate portion and having its underside spaced from the downwardly sloping upper surface of said one base flange of the rail and from the upper surface of the base plate, said inclined portion being providedl with openings elongated in the longitudinal direction of the base plate and through which said bolts extend, said block also being provided with a foot portion integrally connected with said inclined portion and extending substantially horizontally therefrom and having surface contact with the upper of the base plate, a washer member operatively associated with said block and provided with boss means having openings therein through which said bolts project, said boss means having a substantially horizontal upper surface and downwardly inclined under surface contacting the upper side of inclined portion @f the block, said washer member having a portion extending' from the boss means thereof and overlying said foot portion of the block and provided at its outer end with an abutment engaging portion, spring means on said bolts engaging the substantially horizontal upper surface of said boss means, and hold-down nuts on said bolts engaging said spring means.

3. A rail brace and supporting means as defined in claim 2 and wherein the abutment means on the upper side of the base plate is in the form of a groove extending transversely cfthe plate while said washer member has a portion extending from the boss means thereof and overlying in spaced relation said foot portion of the block and provided at its outer end with a downwardly turned flange engaging in said groove.

GEORGEl ARNGLD. HARRY A. SCI-IULTZ. EDWIN E. RHOADS.

.REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,439,087 Gallagher Dec. 19, 1922 2,223,865 Arnold Dec. 3, 1940 2,385,032 Scholes f Sept. 18, 1945 

